Network Monitoring with Estimation of Network Path to Network Element Location

ABSTRACT

A method of mapping a network path in which a geographic path of cables of a network between a geographic location of a network component and a geographic location of a terminal network element is estimated electronically using Keyhole Markup Language (KML) data. A geographically accurate street map is populated with the geographic location of the network component, the geographic location of the terminal network element, and the estimated geographic path. The map is capable of being displayed with the use of geospatial software implementing KML encoding. A signal processing electronic device for populating a display of an interactive graphical user interface with network path mapping information and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the above referenced operations are also provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Related subject matter is disclosed in the following patentapplications, which are commonly owned and co-pending with the presentapplication, and the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference: U.S. application Ser. No. ______, filed Apr. 27, 2012,entitled “MAPPING A NETWORK FAULT” (Attorney Docket No. CS39864); U.S.application Ser. No. ______, filed Apr. 27, 2012, entitled “ESTIMATING ASEVERITY LEVEL OF A NETWORK FAULT” (Attorney Docket No. CS39865); andU.S. application Ser. No. ______, filed Apr. 27, 2012, entitled“ESTIMATING PHYSICAL LOCATIONS OF NETWORK FAULTS” (Attorney Docket No.CS39866).

BACKGROUND

Program providers such as multiple system operators, television networksand stations, cable TV operators, satellite TV operators, studios,wireless service providers, and Internet broadcasters/service providers,among others, may require broadband communication systems to deliverprogramming and like content to consumers/subscribers over networks viadigital or analog signals. Such networks and physical plants can beextensive and complex and are typically difficult for an operator tomanage and monitor for faults, impairments, and like maintenance andother issues. For instance, the monitoring of network maintenanceactivities may particularly present problems to operators of extensivecable networks.

By way of example, a cable network may include a headend which isconnected to several nodes that may provide access to IP or ISPNnetworks. The headend typically interfaces with a cable modemtermination system (CMTS) which has several receivers with each receiverconnecting to numerous nodes each of which connect to numerous networkelements, such as modems, MTA (media terminal adaptors), set top boxes,terminal devices, customer premises equipment (CPE) or like devices ofsubscribers. For instance, a single receiver of the CMTS may connect toseveral hundred or more network elements. Cable modems may support dataconnection to the Internet and other computer networks via the cablenetwork, and the cable networks provides bi-directional communicationsystems in which data can be sent downstream from the headend to asubscriber and upstream from a subscriber to the headend. The cablenetworks typically includes a variety of cables such as coaxial cables,optical fiber cables, or a Hybrid Fiber/Coaxial (HFC) cable system whichinterconnect the cable modems of subscribers to the headend in a treeand branch structure where terminal network elements (MTA, cable modem,set top box, etc.) reside on various optical nodes. The nodes may becombined and serviced by common components at the headend.

Typically, the process for tracking which terminal devices are attachedto which optical node and the like is a manual process. For instance, asa new customer's services are first enabled, a network operator mayidentify the specific node or location of the user and enter thisinformation manually into a customer management database. Information ofsuch connections is valuable for resolving physical layer communicationsissues, performing periodic HFC plant maintenance, and planning futureservice expansions. However, when the data is inaccurate or incomplete,it can often lead to misdiagnosis of issues, excessive costs associatedwith maintenance, and prolonged new deployments. In addition, ascommunication traffic increases or new services are deployed, the needto understand loading of parts of the network becomes important,particularly if existing subscribers must be reallocated to differentparts of nodes of the network.

Thus, as discussed above, any kind of topological network locationrequires the manual entry of information into a database. This can be afairly time consuming and tedious task. In practice, cable serviceproviders typically solely rely upon customer calls and manualtechnician analysis to locate issues in their network and physicalplants.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various features of the embodiments described in the following detaileddescription can be more fully appreciated when considered with referenceto the accompanying figures, wherein the same numbers refer to the sameelements.

FIG. 1 is a snapshot screen view of a so-called dashboard of a graphicaluser interface according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a view of a panel of the dashboard showing a cluster ofobjects displayed on top of a satellite image of a geographic area intowhich a network extends according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view of an interactive user interface display which mayprovide a starting point of the dashboard once a user logs into thesystem according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 with the map further zoomed-in to aparticular region of the network service area according to anembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view of an interactive user interface display which shows analarm tree for use in investigating information of alarms shown on thedisplay according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 with the alarm tree further expandedin accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a view of a graphical user interface with a local geographicmap showing a node location, terminal network elements, network path,and alarms in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a view of a graphical user interface similar to FIG. 7 with acluster of terminal network elements highlighted based on geo-proximityin accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a view of a graphical user interface similar to FIG. 8 that isdisplayed on a satellite image of the geographic area according to anembodiment.

FIG. 10 is a view of a graphical user interface similar to FIG. 9 andincluding a listing of alarms for the cable modems displayed on the mapaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a view of a graphical user interface similar to FIG. 10 andincluding a listing of a particular performance parameter (in thisinstance, downstream microreflections in dBs for absolute and deltavalues) for the cable modems displayed on the map and channels usedthereby according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a view of a wireless communication tablet having a displayscreen that may be used by a field technician in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 13 is a snapshot view of a display screen of the tablet providing alist of faulted modems in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a snapshot view of a display screen of the tablet providingthe geographic locations of the faulted modems on a street map inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a view of a section of a network extending downstream from anode and in which a cluster of cable modems subject to a fault isdefined in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a view of a section of a network extending downstream from anode and in which cable modems subject to a power related fault areshown in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a view of a section of a network extending downstream from anode and in which cable modems subject to a reflection related fault areshown in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There exists a need for a management and/or monitoring system, tooland/or method that enables issues occurring in a network, such as acable network, to be proactively and automatically located. For example,information concerning the geographical location of an issue, the natureof the issue, and/or the severity of an issue should provide usefulinformation to a network operator if provided in a timely manner so thatissues can be quickly detected, isolated, located and addressed. Inaddition, historical, long term, and periodic health information about anetwork may aid in determining trends that may indicate slow and steadydegradation of a network element or component. Such degradation may nototherwise be detected based on spot checks until an actual failureoccurs. If at least some of these tasks are accomplished automaticallyand if such a system or tool is able to scale across extremely largenetworks, this may permit network operators to become more proactivewith network maintenance activities and to achieve higher levels ofnetwork availability and reliability. This may also enable operationalcosts to be reduced by decreasing the need for real time troubleshootingat a time after the occurrence of the problem or issue. Still further,the periodic collection and analysis of network conditions may provide aview into critical network indicators and aid in resolving issues priorto customer impact.

This disclosure describes a method of mapping a network path in which ageographic path of cables of a network between a geographic location ofa network component and a geographic location of a terminal networkelement is estimated electronically using Keyhole Markup Language (KML)data. A geographic map is populated with the geographic location of thenetwork component, the geographic location of the terminal networkelement, and the geographic path generated by the estimating step, andthe geographic map is capable of being displayed with the use ofgeospatial software implementing KML encoding.

This disclosure also describes a signal processing electronic device forpopulating a display of an interactive graphical user interface withnetwork path mapping information. The device has at least one processingunit configured to automatically generate an estimated geographic pathof a network between a geographic location of a network component and ageographic location of a terminal network element with Keyhole MarkupLanguage (KML) data. The at least one processing unit is also configuredto populate a display of a geographic map with the geographic locationof the network component, the geographic location of the terminalnetwork element, and the estimated geographic path.

In addition, this disclosure describes at least one non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium having computer program instructionsstored thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause theat least one processor to perform operations including estimating ageographic path of a network between a geographic location of a networkcomponent and a geographic location of a terminal network elementelectronically with Keyhole Markup Language (KML) data and populating ageographic map with the geographic location of the network component,the geographic location of the network element, and the geographic path.During the estimating step, the KML data is used to electronicallydetermine a path corresponding to a shortest walking distance betweenthe geographic location of the network component and the geographiclocation of the terminal network element, and the path corresponding tothe shortest walking distance is used as the geographic path of thenetwork.

For simplicity and illustrative purposes, the principles of embodimentsare described by referring mainly to examples thereof. In the followingdescription, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be apparenthowever, to one of ordinary skill in the art, that the embodiments maybe practiced without limitation to these specific details. In someinstances, well known methods and structures have not been described indetail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the embodiments.

According to an embodiment, network monitoring is performed such thatinformation concerning geographic location of monitored networkelements, such as cable modems or the like, and associated networkcomponent topology, such as HFC components and the like, areautomatically populated into a network management database or the likefor purposes of providing a visual display, such as a geographicallyaccurate street map or satellite image of a region of a service area,that can clearly indicate a fault or other issue and the geographicallocation thereof. Thus, the path that the network takes geographicallyis displayed on the map along with the physical location of networkelements and components within the network. Such a map provides a usefulnetwork management tool to network operators and field technicians forresolving issues in an efficient and prompt manner.

As one contemplated example, the map can be provided as part of agraphical interface which displays faults of varying severity levelsranging from critical to completely non-service affecting. Accordingly,in at least some embodiments, the severity of a fault on the network isautomatically determined and displayed with the estimated geographiclocation of the fault on the map.

In addition, the network monitoring and management system or tool can beprovided and fully integrated into software that is loaded and resideson a server or remote server connected to or communicating with thenetwork. Of course, the software may reside on other devices andequipment such as equipment located at the headend of the network, clouddevices, and portable or mobile devices. This approach eliminates theneed for manual analysis of data and permits large amounts of data to beautomatically analyzed electronically by microprocessors or the like ona large scale.

The network management tool or software may estimate and makeassumptions regarding probable tap and passive locations and couple thisinformation with Keyhole Markup Language (KML) geographical data andknown optical node location data. From this cumulative information, thenetwork management tool or software can estimate and automaticallypopulate a map or the like of a given service area with monitored cablemodem locations and associated network component topology.

The geographic location of a fault and surrounding network path can beestimated, isolated, and displayed despite minimum information andmanually entered data concerning the actual network path or networkelement location being available. The graphical interface can identifyand display specific network elements as problematic. As an example, anetwork or HFC component such as cables, taps, passives, or the likethat is identified as a suspect component potentially contributing tolinear distortion or excessive loss impairments may be identified anddisplayed as a location of a fault. Whether a fault impacts a singlesubscriber or a group of subscribers may also be estimated and shown inthe display.

Still further, the network management tool may be used to identifyclusters or groups of network elements or cable modems that may sharenetwork or HFC infrastructure, such as common components includingoptics, nodes, amps, cables, taps, passives, and the like. In thisregard, Management Information Base (MIB) information for service groupsreadily available via data pulls from a CMTS or like equipment at theheadend of the network can be used in conjunction with the abovereferenced geographical location information. Network element groups orclusters can be readily displayed via the graphical interface andwithout the need for the software to reference other sources, performtesting, or wait for common impairment signature alarms to be raised.

Still further, the severity of a fault may be estimated with respect toupstream impairments through association of physical layer metricsincluding pre and post forward error correction (FEC) along with thenumber of impacted network elements or subscribers. Higher priorityalarms are assigned to groups of network elements or subscribers thatexceed threshold values. In contrast, lower priority alarms can beassigned to faults detected for single network elements or subscribers.

According to an embodiment, the graphical interface referenced above maybe presented in the form of a so-called “dashboard” to a user such aspersonnel of a network operations center. Critical alarms may be shownacross the entire network in a geographical display of the network orparts thereof. In addition, access may be provided to statistics via useof the dashboard to allow the user to monitor the overall health oftheir network.

Various snap-shot views of a graphical user interface are provided inFIGS. 1-14 and are discussed below. It should be understood that thesedisplays may be altered as desired. A first example of a dashboard 10which may be displayed to a user via a monitor or the like electronicdisplay screen is shown in FIG. 1. In this example, a first panel 12 ofthe dashboard 10 provides information of “Active Alarms” including alist of alarms or potential faults 14, a second panel 16 provides aso-called “Physical View” of the network, and a third panel 18 providesa geographically-accurate street map 20 showing the geographicallocation of the alarms listed in panel 12 along with the nearest node 22or other network component. The map 20 may include roads and streets andnames thereof. In addition, as best illustrated in FIG. 2, alarms can beoverlaid on images 24, for instance satellite images, of thegeographical service area in which the alarms are located.

When an issue, fault or alarm is identified, it can be associated anddisplayed with other issues, faults and alarms based on geographicalproximity. For instance, see the alarms 14 within circle 26 in FIG. 1.This group or cluster of alarms provides a visual indicator of thenetwork elements affected and can indicated a center point of apotential problem causing the cluster of alarms. For instance, see thecenter point 28 in FIG. 2. A user which selects the center point may beprovided with a listing of problem network elements or modems. Inaddition, the cluster of alarms may have a single corresponding “alarm”object to thereby reduce the number of alarms displayed to the user.

After an issue is first identified by the network monitoring andmanagement system, tool or software, the operator or user may beprovided with several options to further investigate the apparentproblem or problems. For instance, network issues may be isolated by“serving group” or “geographic proximity” (i.e., clustering) and may beprioritized by severity based on the number of customers/subscribersaffected and the extent to which faults are service-affecting. Thenetwork faults can be linked by the management software to a mapinterface which enables the fault to be connected to a physical locationin the network.

FIGS. 3-11 provide further examples of views of a dashboard which may bedisplayed to a network operator. Any type or number of available charts,maps, or alert views can be viewed and organized in the dashboard. Byway of example, the dashboard 30 shown in FIG. 3 may be configured as astarting point when a user first logs onto the network monitoring andmanagement software or system. Here, a “zoomed-out” view of the networkis initially provided to permit an overall view of the network, whichmay span a large geographic area. Data is collected and analyzed by thenetwork monitoring and management tool to identify a type of fault orfaults and the estimated geographic location of the fault(s) solelybased on analysis of the data.

FIG. 3 provides an entire network view 32 based on a geographic formatand provides an indication of so-called “hot-spots” 34 of alarms. Alisting 36 of alarms can be provided in a panel 38 which can alsoindicate the severity and location of the hot-spots 34. Charts such as aFEC deltas/CMTS channel exceeding threshold chart 40, a Flap deltas/CMTSchannel exceeding threshold chart 42, and a CMTS channel utilizationthreshold crossing chart 44 can be displayed in a panel 46 andcorrespond to the alarms shown in the listing 36. Of course, thesecharts provide just a few examples of possible charts. A further exampleof such a dashboard is shown in FIG. 4 which provides a display of asection of the map 48 in greater detail.

In FIG. 5, a dashboard is shown in which panel 50 provides informationon network topology. Here, the topology is provided in a form of aso-called alarm tree which enables a user to gain further informationwith respect to more narrowly defined sections of the network. Forexample, the topology could list CMTSs (such as CMTS-1, CMTS-2, CMTS-3,CMTS-4, and CMTS-5). Further, the fiber nodes (i.e., FN-A and FN-B) canbe shown for any of the CMTSs and a number of network elementsassociated with an alarm can be listed. As shown in FIG. 6, the panel 50can also be expanded to show the number of network elements associatedwith alarms per severity of alarm (i.e., critical, major, and minor).

A more local view of a street map 52 is shown in FIG. 7. Here a singlefiber node 54 of the network is shown as is the network path 56extending from the node 54 to terminal network elements 58, such ascable modems, serviced via the node 54. The shade (or color, etc.) ofthe terminal networks elements 58 can be used to visually indicate analarm on the map 52. For instance, terminal network element 58 a isshown in a dark shade (or a particularly color, such as red) which mayindicate an alarm of critical severity whereas terminal network elementsdisplayed in lighter shades (other colors, such as yellow) may indicatean alarm of a minor severity. This same map 52 can be furtherinvestigated as shown in FIG. 8 in which a geo-proximity cluster 60 isshown highlighted. The path 56 of the cable plant shown in FIGS. 7 and 8may be estimated using KML data as discussed in greater detail below. Ifdesired, the user of the management tool is able to adjust the path 56or enter in any known network topology information into the managementsoftware or tool should the estimated path and view be inaccurate.

Another view similar to FIG. 7 is shown in the map 62 of FIG. 9. Herethe street map 52 has been modified to show actual satellite imagery ofthe surrounding geographic area. The node 54, path 56, and terminalnetwork elements 58 are overlaid on the satellite imagery as are thealarms and other network topology. For purposes of further investigatinga potential network fault, the “cable modems” illustrated in FIG. 9 canbe shown in a drop down window 64 such as shown in FIG. 10. Here the MACaddress, power status, noise status, upstream reflection status,downstream reflection status, FEC status for each cable modem orterminal network element 58. Some of these cable modems and listedstatuses have no alarms whereas others have alarms of “minor” severitywhile others have alarms of “critical” severity. FIG. 11 shows theability of the tool to further investigate network issues. Here,measurements corresponding to downstream microreflections in dBs arelisted (as absolute and delta values) are shown in a window 66 so that auser may view these or any other values that are or are not the subjectof an alarm.

Accordingly, after a network operator center user views the abovereferenced dashboards and investigates alarms therewith, for instance asshown above, and has identified a particular issue that needs to beresolved, the network monitoring and management tool, software or systemcan be used to assist the user in sending an appropriate fieldtechnician to the correct geographical location. The user can also usethe management tool or software to assess the urgency with respect tothe need to resolve the issue.

The network monitoring and management system, tool or software can alsobe used by a service technician in the field. For example, the networkmonitoring and management software may be run on a remote server that isaccessible by the technician such as via a secure wireless webinterface. For instance, a mobile device, such as a portable, lap-top,notebook, or tablet computer, a smart phone, or the like may be used toobtain various views, information and maps as discussed above.Accordingly, provided information can be used for rapid, real-timedebugging of field issues and provide geographic information, providereal-time monitoring of upstream and downstream performance metrics anderror states, and permit a technician to see the interdependency ofmultiple issues. The above can reduce the need for the technician toaccess the inside of residences, reduce the number of calls thetechnician needs to make to the head-end, and enable the technician toupdate network topology information while in the field. For purposes ofthis disclosure, “real-time” includes a level of responsiveness that issufficiently fast to provide meaningful data that reflects current orrecent network conditions as well as a level of responsiveness thattolerates a degree of lateness or built-in delay.

By way of example, a tablet 70 is shown in FIGS. 12-14 that may be usedby a field technician to connect to the network monitoring andmanagement software. In FIG. 9, the technician is provided with adisplay 72 that includes an icon 74 for a list of the CMTSs, an icon 76for network wide alerts, an icon 78 for scanning or uploadinginformation into the system, and a settings icon 80. FIG. 10 shows adisplay 82 providing a tabular view of network devices 84 having faults,and FIG. 11 shows a display 86 showing the same network devices 84 in ageographical map-style platform with the closest fiber node 88 or likenetwork component. All of the above provides helpful and usefulinformation to the field technician.

Various methods are used by the network monitoring and managementsystem, software, and tool described above that enables faultdetermination, fault location, mapping of the network geographically,displaying of faults with and without network topology information,displaying a cluster of network elements impacted by the same fault, andthe severity of the fault. Embodiments of these methods are providedbelow.

Estimation of Network Path to Network Element Locations

Network operators seeking to implement a large scale network monitoringand management system are challenged by the need to enter all networktopology information into a database for use by the network monitoringand management software. This manual data entry process can be extremelytime consuming and expensive; however, if accomplished, such a databaseand information can provide extremely valuable information to thenetwork operator.

An embodiment of the network monitoring and management system includesan automated process of approximating the path of a network. Thus, amanual task of entering and defining network path is not required, andthe task of populating a database with such information is accomplishedquickly with little or no manual effort. For this purpose, KML data canbe used to estimate the path of a cable network, for instance, the pathcabling of the network takes between a node (i.e., such as a fiber opticnode) and a terminal network element (for instance, a cable modem). Withthis approach, slight errors in path estimation are tolerated, and thelocation estimation of network issues can be accurate.

Keyhole Markup Language (KML) is an Extensible Markup Language (XML)notation for expressing geographic annotation and visualization withinInternet-based, two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional browsers. TheKML file specifies a set of features (place marks, images, polygons, 3Dmodels, textual descriptions, etc.) for display in any type ofgeospatial software implementing KML encoding. Each place or feature onthe map is assigned a longitude and latitude. KML files may bedistributed in KMZ files, which are zipped files with a “.kmz”extension. The contents of a KMZ file typically include a single rootKML document (notionally “doc.kml”) and optionally any overlays, images,icons, and 3D models referenced in the KML including network-linked KMLfiles. By convention the root KML document is at root level andreferenced files are in subdirectories (e.g. images for overlay images).

Accordingly, via the use of KML data, the physical locations of networkfaults and physical geographic location information of fiber nodes inthe network can be displayed on a street map or satellite image. Fibernode information is typically stored by the network operator and wouldbe readily available to the network monitoring and management softwareby importing such data via data pulls. Determination of network faultlocations is discussed later in a separate section.

The method of mapping a network path can include estimating a geographicpath of cables of a network between a geographic location of a networkcomponent and a geographic location of a terminal network elementelectronically using Keyhole Markup Language (KML) data of a surroundinggeographic area (i.e., streets, etc.). Such a method can also includepopulating a geographically-accurate map with the geographic location ofthe network component, the geographic location of the terminal networkelement, and the estimated geographic path. The produced geographic mapdata may be displayed via geospatial software implementing KML encoding.During the estimating step, the KML data can be used to electronicallydetermine a path corresponding to a shortest walking distance betweenthe geographic location of the network component and the geographiclocation of the terminal network element, and the path corresponding tothe shortest walking distance can be used as the geographic path of thecables of the network. A visual form of the geographic map can bedisplayed by a user with geospatial software implementing KML encodingin which the network component, the terminal network element, and thegeographic path are graphically shown on the visual form of thegeographic map. In addition, a geographic location of a suspectednetwork fault can be added onto the geographic map for being graphicallyshown on the visual form of the geographic map.

Information can be electronically received concerning the networkcomponent and the geographic location of the network component. Forexample, the network component may be a fiber optic node and theinformation may be imported from a database via a cable modemtermination system (CMTS).

Information can also be electronically received concerning the terminalnetwork element and the geographic location of the terminal networkelement. For example, a service address of the terminal network elementcan be imported from a database, and the geographic location of theterminal network element on the geographic map can be marked as thegeographic location of the service address. A location of a tap of theterminal network element can be defined as a location on a street infront of the service address. The location of a drop cable can beestimated as a connection between the geographic location of the serviceaddress and the estimated location of the tap. A path corresponding to ashortest walking direction from the network component to the terminalnetwork element along streets included in the geographic map can bedetermined and used as the geographic path of the network between thenetwork component and the tap.

The above path estimating procedure can be repeated automatically by thesoftware for each terminal network element connected to the networkcomponent, and the numerous paths estimated can be overlaid to producean overall estimated network path for a predetermined service area ofthe network.

A determination as to which cable modem is connected to which fiber nodecan be made, for instance, by either of the following alternatives. Ifinformation is readily available with respect to which network elementsare in which DOCSIS serving groups, then a particular fiber node will beconnected to the cable modems that are known to be within the sameserving group assigned to the node. Alternatively, if this informationis not readily accessible by the network monitoring and managementsoftware, then each cable modem is determined (estimated) to beconnected to the fiber node to which it is physically closest (i.e.,Manhattan distance).

With the above information displayed on a geographical map, points wherepaths intersect, but have not previously been marked as taps, can beidentified as splitters. The only actual difference between a tap and asplitter is the power ratio of the outputs. In addition, points ofnetwork power level discontinuities observed relative to networkarchitecture can be identified as locations of amplifiers.

With the above information, the network path and location of networkelements and components can now be estimated and displayed by thenetwork monitoring and management software. This software also providesthe user with the ability to adjust the path and edit (add, delete ormove) elements and components within the graphic display of the networkand save them to the database as such information is verified by a fieldtechnician or the like. Thus, as more and more information is added intothe database and saved, the accuracy of the results and future resultscan be further improved.

A signal processing electronic device, such as a server or remote servercan run an application to provide the above process steps. In addition,a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computerprogram instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor,cause the processor to perform the above discussed operations can alsobe provided.

In addition, various modifications can be implemented with the abovedescribed method. For example, corrections of the path estimation basedon the curvature of the earth, summation of highly segmented paths intoa single path, and removal of redundant data for scalability can beimplemented to refine the estimated path or provide a desired view tothe user.

Clustering Network Elements at Network Fault Locations

Customers/subscribers and their network elements must be linked topoints on a map for purposes of being able to connect faults with aproper geographic location on the map. In some instances, there may beonly a minimum amount of network element location data available to beaccessed and automatically imported by the network monitoring system.When a minimum amount of information can be provided, the followingprocess can be used to geographically locate issues within the networkand prioritize the faults in order of severity.

The billing/service address associated with the Media Access Control(MAC) address on the cable modem/network element can be obtained andcombined with information concerning DOCSIS serving groups to properlygroup cable modems together. When a fault is believed to affect such agroup of modems, the numerous faults or alarms associated with eachindividual modem can be combined and prioritized into a single, higherpriority, network fault.

For example, the customer's billing/service address is linked to the MACaddress of the cable modem. This address is positioned on a map toidentify the physical location of this particular cable modem. The MACaddresses are linked to the DOCSIS serving group to group modems inphysical groups that will likely share the same network components.Thus, when a fault occurs in the network, the network monitoring andmanagement system searches for groups of modems which are located neareach other physically and share the same DOCSIS serving group. Thesegroups are identified as a “Cluster”. Any fault affecting the clustercan be identified as a single higher priority fault, as compared tobeing identified as a large number of individual and unrelated lowpriority faults.

Thus, according to an embodiment, a method of mapping a network faultincludes the steps of receiving information electronically concerninggeographical coordinates of terminal network elements on a network andan association of the terminal network elements with shared networkcomponents and monitoring a performance parameter transmitted over thenetwork via upstream network communications from each one of theterminal network elements. Terminal network elements from which theperformance parameter monitored is unacceptable relative to apredetermined threshold for the performance parameter are identified. Acluster of terminal network elements estimated to be subject to a commonnetwork fault is defined by including terminal network elements withinthe cluster that are: (i) identified as discussed above; (ii) within apredetermined geographic distance from each other as determined from thegeographical coordinates obtained as discussed above; and (iii) areassociated with a common shared network component of the network. Thegeographic coordinates corresponding to a center of the defined clusterand a radius of the defined cluster may also be estimated and indicated.A geographic map is then populated with a single cluster alarm for thenetwork fault including an identification of the terminal networkelements within the cluster. The geographic map may be displayable viageospatial software.

During the monitoring of performance parameters, different types ofperformance parameters may be monitored to identify different types offault issues. Thus, during the step of defining a cluster, the terminalnetwork elements included within the cluster may or may not be limitedto terminal network elements subject to at least one selected type ofthe different types of fault issues.

For purposes of determining the set of terminal network elements on thenetwork that are within a predetermined geographical proximity of thenetwork fault, service addresses of terminal network elements on thenetwork can be imported and used to determine whether or not terminalnetwork elements are within the predetermined geographical proximity andto provide the geographic locations of the network elements to bepopulated on the geographic map. Since each terminal network element hasa unique Media Access Control (MAC) address, the step of importingservice addresses comprises the step of using known information of MediaAccess Control (MAC) addresses to link terminal network elements to theservice addresses.

For purposes of determining which terminal network elements are within acommon serving group, information can be imported concerning servinggroups to which terminal network elements are linked and which terminalnetwork elements are within a common serving group associated with theoperation of the network component. By way of example, informationconcerning DOCSIS serving groups can be imported via data pulls from acable modem termination system (CMTS) connected to the network. The datapulls from the CMTS can be from Management Information Base (MIB)information on the CMTS.

Information available with respect to Media Access Control (MAC)addresses of terminal network elements on the network can be used tolink terminal network elements to the service addresses and to thecommon service group. The above described method can also includedisplaying a visual form of the geographic map with geospatial softwarein which the alarm or alarms, network component, and the cluster ofterminal network elements are graphically shown on the visual form ofthe geographic map. Examples of shared network components can include anode, a fiber optic node, a passive optic splitter, a passive opticnetwork unit, an amplifier, a tap, a cable, and the like. Still further,the method can further comprise a step of prioritizing the alarmassociated with the network fault such that the network fault affectingthe cluster is provided with a higher priority as shown on thegeographic map than a different alarm for a network fault associatedwith a single terminal network element.

FIG. 15 provides an example with respect to a general cluster thresholdalarm. A portion of a network 100 extending downstream from fiber opticnode FN-A is shown in FIG. 15. The illustration of each house 102 inFIG. 15 represents a location of a cable modem (not shown) connected tothe network 100 and the lines 104 interconnecting the houses 102 and thenode FN-A represent the network path. Performance parameters monitoredfrom some of the cable modems may indicate at least some level of anetwork fault. In the Example shown in FIG. 15, the houses 102individually circled are reporting issues. Five of the houses 102located within the larger circle 106 are located near one another;whereas, the house 102A is located a greater distance away from thelarger circle 106 shown in FIG. 15.

Based only on the geographic coordinates of each of the cable modemsreporting an issue in FIG. 15 and their association with the common nodecomponent, FN-A, the cable modems within the larger circle 106 can bedefined within a cluster subject to a single higher priority clusteralarm than the single cable modem at house 102A. The automaticallygenerated cluster alarm can indicate the cable modems within the cluster(i.e., within circle 106), the node component FN-A, the geographiccoordinates of the center of the defined cluster and the radius of thedefined cluster. The definitions of clusters can include cable modemsexperiencing any type of issue or alarm or can be narrowed to cablemodems experiencing a specific type of issue (i.e., a power relatedissue, a reflection related issue, a FEC related issue, etc.). Further,the definition of clusters can be limited based on the severity or levelof the issue detected. In addition, a maximum distance between cablemodems reporting issues can also be set to limit the possible size of acluster. All the above settings and configurations can be instituted ona per node basis since network topologies may vary greatly from one nodeto the next of a network and since thresholds and alarm analysis may ormay not be relevant for any particular node and across different regionsof a large network.

A signal processing electronic device, such as a server or remoteserver, can run an application to provide the above process steps. Inaddition, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium havingcomputer program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by aprocessor, cause the processor to perform the above discussed operationscan also be provided.

Geographic Location/Isolation of Faults/Impairments

A combination of monitored parameters and network topology informationcan be used to identify the likely physical locations of cable networkdefects. This approach is able to be implemented in software throughstraightforward numerical analysis. Complex image recognition andartificial intelligence are not required. In addition, a combination ofsub-algorithms can be used to locate a common network failure point evenwhen several different and potentially, seemingly unrelated, issues areobserved.

A method of estimating the physical location of a network fault which isproducing linear distortion or excessive loss impairments may includethe step of receiving information electronically of a physical topologyof a network. This may include data pulls of information concerningnetwork components and geographic locations of the network componentsand terminal network elements and geographic locations of the terminalnetwork elements. The method may also include the steps of detecting anetwork fault by automatically and electronically monitoring at leastone performance parameter transmitted via upstream communications fromterminal network elements on the network and automatically estimating aphysical location of the network fault on the network based on the atleast one performance parameter detected, the information of thephysical topology of the network obtained, and the terminal networkelement or elements from which the at least one performance parameterwas received that indicated the network fault. Thereafter, the methodincludes automatically generating a list of network components that mayrequire inspection and may provide a source of the network fault. By wayof example, the network components may include drop cables, taps, trunkcables, amplifiers, and node components.

The network may be a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network whichinterconnects the terminal network elements, such as cable modems, to aheadend of the network having a cable modem termination system (CMTS)via a tree and branch network structure. The upstream communications areherein defined as communications transmitted in a direction from theterminal network elements toward the headend.

The method may also include the step of automatically and electronicallypopulating a geographically-accurate map with a geographic location of anetwork component to which the network fault is attributed, a geographiclocation of each the terminal network elements impacted by the networkfault, and a diagnostic alarm identifying the network fault. Accordingto an embodiment, the map is displayable with the use of geospatialsoftware.

A subset of monitored parameters is used to determine which elements inthe physical network are potential points of fault. The monitoredparameters can include, for instance: downstream power level (absoluteand delta); upstream power level (absolute and delta); microreflections;upstream filter coefficient ratio; carrier-to-noise ratio(CNR)/signal-to-noise ratio (SNR); and modulation error ratio (MER).

According to one example, the upstream filter coefficient ratio, whichcan also be referred to as an Equalization Power Ratio (EPR), can beused in detecting the presence of faults in a cable network. Theequation for this ratio is a 10 log of the ratio between tap energy usedfor correction divided by the total energy (including the main tap) ofthe equalizer of the cable modem. Thus, the equation may read:EPR=10*log(TCE/TE); where TCE stands for Tap Correction Energy (i.e.,the sum of the energy used by the equalizer in all of the taps, exceptthe main tap) and TE stands for Total Energy (i.e., the sum of all ofthe energy used by the equalizer in all of the taps, including the maintap). Thus, with this particular parameter, the presence of a fault onthe network is detected based on a determination of how much energy isneeded by a cable modem for equalization correction of upstreamcommunications. For example, after a certain level of correction isrequired, this is used as a tool for the indication of a potentiallyfaulty component on the network.

After a fault is detected and relevant network topology is obtained, thefollowing algorithms may be used to estimate the physical location of afault. For example, if only a single cable modem within a common servinggroup of modems sharing common network components reports anunacceptable drop in downstream and upstream power level, then it isautomatically estimated that the likely network elements which arecausing the issue are the drop cable of the single cable modem, theassociated tap, and the trunk cable feeding the tap. However, ifmultiple cable modems in the same serving group report this drop inpower level, the drop cables, associated taps, and trunk cables feedingthese taps are all identified as likely causes of the issue. However,the elements furthest upstream within the network topology areprioritized as the most likely location of a common defect in thenetwork in this case.

If only a single cable modem within a common serving group of cablemodems reports an unacceptable level of microreflections or in itsupstream filter coefficient ratio (i.e., EPR as discussed above), or ifthere is an unacceptable drop in either of these parameters and anabsolute power level value that is marginal, then it is estimated thatthe likely network elements which are causing the issue are the dropcable, the associated tap, and the trunk cable feeding the tap. Ifmultiple cable modems in the same serving group report an unacceptablelevel of microreflections or in their upstream filter coefficientratios, or if there is an unacceptable drop in either of theseparameters and an absolute value that is marginal, then the drop cables,associated taps, and trunk cables feeding these taps are all identifiedas likely causes of the issue. However, the network elements which aremost frequently identified in common are prioritized as the most likelylocation of a common defect in the network.

If multiple cable modems within the serving group are showing bothreflection and power drop issues, both sets of elements are identifiedas potential causes. However, the power defect result is prioritizedeven if the true issue is reflection based. This is because the powerdefect result will more likely identify the correct point in the networkto address to solve the issue.

If a power drop issue is observed on only the upstream or downstreamsignal, then prioritization is placed upon amplifier and node elements

If one or more cable modems are showing unacceptable levels of CNR/SNRor MER and are showing acceptable power levels, then priority is placedon the amplifier and node elements within the system. However, if one ormore cable modems are showing unacceptable levels of CNR/SNR or MER andare showing unacceptable power levels, then priority is placed on thepower level fault identification as discussed above (i.e., drop cable,the associated tap, and the trunk cable feeding the tap).

FIG. 16 provides an example in which an alarm threshold of theperformance parameters for downstream power level, absolute and delta,are detected for a series of cable modems C1, C2, C3, C4, C5 and C6which are all serviced via the same optic fiber node FN-A. Each of thesecable modem locations is shown circled in FIG. 16. Cable modems C1, C2and C3 are connected to taps T1, T2 and T3, respectively, and each cablemodem C4, C5 and C6 is connected to tap T4. A splitter S1 is locateddownstream of tap T2 and provides a split of the network path to taps T3and T4. At least one cable modem subtending a tap or slit must reportpower issues for an alarm to be raised and to identify a continuouspower affected region of the network.

According to an embodiment, an alarm is automatically raised for theissue shown in FIG. 16 based on the detected parameters and topology ofthe network and provides an estimate of the location or cause of thefault and identifies the cable modems and network topology componentsthat are affected by the issue. An algorithm for automaticallyestimating the location of the fault may include a depth first traversalof the topology of the network connected to node FN-A. For instance, thepower status of each cable modem along the path starting with cablemodems C3, C4, C5 and C6 is reported via upstream communications. A tapis identified as a possible power issue if at least one of thesubtending cable modems indicates a power issue. This process isrepeated recursively for cable modems C2 and then C1 until the pathleads back to the node FN-A. Any tap or splitter will be identified as apossible location of the fault if at least one subtending cable modemshows power degradation.

In the example shown in FIG. 16, the above methodology willautomatically estimate and identify node FN-A and tap T1 as a probablelocation of the fault and will identify taps T2, T3 and T4, splitter S1,and corresponding cable modems as being affected by the fault. Thus, afield technician will first be directed to tap T1 and the subtendingcable for further investigation of the issue.

FIG. 17 provides an example in which an alarm threshold of theperformance parameter related to either upstream or downstreamreflection is detected for a series of cable modems C2, C3, C4, C5 andC6 which are all serviced via the same optic fiber node FN-A. Each ofthese cable modem locations is shown circled in FIG. 17. An alarm isautomatically raised for the issue shown in FIG. 17 based on thedetected parameters and topology of the network and provides an estimateof the location or cause of the fault and identifies the cable modemsand network topology components that are affected by the issue.

An algorithm for automatically estimating the location of the reflectionrelated fault may include weighting or assigning each cable drop, tap,and down feeder cable with a value of one for each cable modem reportinga reflection issue, and weighting or assigning a tap or split at aterminating end of the feeder cable with a value of 1 or less. Theweight of each element or component is incremented each time referencedby a different cable modem. The fault location is estimated as thecomponent having the highest weight.

In the example shown in FIG. 17, this methodology will weigh the dropcables of each of cable modems C2, C3, C4, C5 and C6 with a value ofone. Taps T2 and T3 will also receive a value of one along with thefeeder cables extending from taps T2 and T3. The tap T4 and the feedercables extending from tap T4 will each be assigned a value of threebased on each of the three cable modems C4, C5 and C6 reporting the sameissue. However, the splitter S1 will be assigned a value of five sinceits value is incremented by one for each of the cable modems C2, C3, C4,C5 and C6 reporting an issue. Thus, the node FN-A and splitter S1 isautomatically identified as the probable locations of the fault and tapsT2, T3 and T4 and associated cable modems are identified as beingaffected by the fault. Thus, a field technician will first be directedto splitter S1 and its downstream feeder cable for further investigationof the reflection issue.

A signal processing electronic device, such as a server or remoteserver, can run an application to provide the above process steps andanalysis. In addition, a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumhaving computer program instructions stored thereon that, when executedby a processor, cause the processor to perform the above discussedoperations can also be provided.

Determination of Network Fault Severity

A challenge associated with large scale network monitoring and alarmingis proper determination and assignment of severity level to each alarm.For example, this is particularly important when dealing with extremelylarge networks where there may be thousands of alarms across millions ofcustomers.

An embodiment of the present development monitors numerous performanceparameters which can individually, or in concert, indicate a widevariety of performance or potential performance issues. Thus, it isnecessary to consistently and accurately rate and prioritize networkalarms in a manner that can scale across these very large scalenetworks.

According to the embodiment, a bank of parameters are monitored on thecable modems and include absolute value of the parameters, the delta inthe values and the delta as a function of the absolute value for eachmodem. If any of these values drop below a configurable threshold, analarm is raised. Once an alarm is raised, it is assessed for itsseverity level based on the following.

If an alarm is raised, but both the pre-FEC and post-FEC Bit Error Rates(BER) are acceptable, then the alarm is determined to be at the lowest(minor) level, is not service-affecting, and is a candidate forproactive maintenance at the convenience of the network operator.

If the alarm is raised and the pre-FEC BER is unacceptable, but thepost-FEC BER is acceptable, then the alarm is determined to be at themiddle (major) level. This is still a candidate for proactivemaintenance but should be monitored for deterioration as it can quicklybecome service-affecting.

If the alarm is raised and the post-FEC BER is unacceptable, then thealarm is determined to be at the highest (critical) level, isservice-affecting, and must be addressed.

Once the severity of the alarm is estimated as described above, thealarms within each severity level are prioritized based upon the numberof customers that are affected by the alarm.

Thus, as described above, a large number of parameters are monitored,and the severity of the alarm is assigned by the pre-FEC and post-FECerror rates, and not the severity of the impairment as shown by theoriginal performance parameter that was being monitored. In a case wherea single impairment is affecting multiple customers, each alarm will bedetected individually, but then the alarms will be combined into asingle, higher priority alarm. Otherwise, a single network issue whichis affecting several customers would be viewed as several, independentlow priority alarms, when in fact resolving a single issue would addressmany customers simultaneously.

By way of example, an embodiment may include estimating a level ofseverity of a network fault by monitoring performance parameters onupstream and downstream links to terminal network elements on a networkto detect potential network faults and raising an alarm with respect toa potential network fault automatically if at least one of theperformance parameters obtained crosses a preset threshold. After analarm is raised, a level of severity is assigned to the alarmautomatically based on pre and post forward error correction (FEC) biterror rates (BER) with respect to communications between an impactedterminal network element and headend equipment of the network, such asthe CMTS. A total number of terminal network elements that may beimpacted by the network fault is estimated and, when multiple alarms areraised of an equal level of severity, a higher priority is placed uponan alarm that affects service to a greatest number of terminal networkelements.

The level of severity may be assigned a lower level of severity when thepre-FEC BER is within a predetermined acceptable range for pre-FEC BERand the post-FEC BER is within a predetermined acceptable range forpost-FEC BER as compared to when at least one of the pre-FEC BER and thepost-FEC BER is outside of its respective predetermined acceptablerange. Further, the level of severity may be assigned a higher level ofseverity when the post-FEC BER falls outside of a predeterminedacceptable range for post-FEC BER as compared to when the post-FEC BERis within the predetermined acceptable range.

Following the detection of a fault and the assignment of severity level,a geographically-accurate map can be automatically populated with ageographic location of a network component to which the network fault isattributed, a geographic location of each terminal network elementimpacted by the network fault, and a diagnostic alarm identifying thenetwork fault and the level of severity of the network fault. The mapmay be displayable via geospatial software.

A signal processing electronic device, such as a server or remoteserver, can run an application to provide the above operations. Inaddition, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium havingcomputer program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by aprocessor, cause the processor to perform the above discussed operationscan also be provided.

The above referenced signal processing electronic devices for carryingout the above methods can physically be provided on a circuit board orwithin another electronic device and can include various processors,microprocessors, controllers, chips, disk drives, and the like. It willbe apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art the modules, processors,controllers, units, and the like may be implemented as electroniccomponents, software, hardware or a combination of hardware andsoftware.

While the principles of the invention have been described above inconnection with specific networks, devices, apparatus, systems, andmethods, it is to be clearly understood that this description is madeonly by way of example and not as limitation on the scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

1. A method of mapping a network path, the method comprising: estimatinga geographic path of at least one cable of a network, wherein thegeographic path corresponds to a shortest walking direction from ageographic location of a network component to a geographic location of aterminal network element along at least one street; and populating ageographic map with the geographic location of the network component,the geographic location of the terminal network element, and thegeographic path, the geographic map being displayable via geospatialsoftware.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein, during theestimating, Keyhole Markup Language (KML) data is used to electronicallydetermine the geographic path.
 3. A method according to claim 1, furthercomprising displaying a visual form of the geographic map withgeospatial software implementing KML encoding in which the networkcomponent, the terminal network element, and the geographic path aregraphically shown on the visual form of the geographic map.
 4. A methodaccording to claim 3, further comprising adding a geographic location ofa suspected network fault on the geographic map for being graphicallyshown on the visual form of the geographic map.
 5. A method according toclaim 1, further comprising receiving information electronicallyconcerning the network component and the geographic location of thenetwork component.
 6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the networkcomponent is a fiber optic node, and the receiving step includesimporting the information from a database via a cable modem terminationsystem (CMTS).
 7. A method according to claim 1, further comprisingreceiving information electronically concerning the terminal networkelement and the geographic location of the terminal network element. 8.A method according to claim 7, wherein receiving the informationincludes importing a service address of the terminal network elementfrom a database and marking the geographic location of the terminalnetwork element on the geographic map as a geographic location of theservice address.
 9. A method according to claim 8, wherein estimatingthe geographic path includes estimating a location of a tap of theterminal network element as a location on a street in front of theservice address.
 10. A method according to claim 9, wherein estimatingthe geographic path includes estimating a location of a drop cable as aconnection between the geographic location of the service address andthe estimated location of the tap.
 11. A method according to claim 9,wherein estimating the geographic path includes defining the geographicpath as being between the network component and the tap.
 12. A methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising repeating the estimating foreach terminal network element connected to the network component, andfurther comprising overlaying the geographic paths generated by theestimating to generate an overall estimated network path for apredetermined service area of the network.
 13. A method according toclaim 12, further comprising determining which terminal network elementsare connected to the network component.
 14. A method according to claim13, wherein determining which terminal network elements are connectedincludes electronically receiving information concerning DOCSIS servinggroups and connecting terminal network elements that are determined tobe within a same DOCSIS serving group to the network component which isdetermined responsible for the DOCSIS serving group.
 15. A methodaccording to claim 13, wherein the network component is a node of thenetwork, and wherein determining which terminal network elements areconnected includes associating terminal network elements to aphysically-closest node of the network.
 16. A method according to claim12, further comprising marking locations on the geographic map wheregeographic paths intersect as a splitter unless already identified as atap.
 17. A method according to claim 12, further comprising points onthe geographic map as amplifiers if network power level discontinuitiesare monitored on the geographic path.
 18. A signal processing electronicdevice for populating a display of an interactive graphical userinterface with network path mapping information, comprising at least oneprocessing unit configured to automatically generate an estimatedgeographic path of a network between a geographic location of a networkcomponent and a geographic location of a terminal network element alongat least one street with Keyhole Markup Language (KML) data, and the atleast one processing unit being configured to populate a display of ageographic map with the geographic location of the network component,the geographic location of the terminal network element, and theestimated geographic path.
 19. A signal processing electronic deviceaccording to claim 18, wherein the signal processing electronic deviceis a server, wherein the geographic map is displayable via geospatialsoftware implementing KML encoding, and wherein the KML data is used bythe at least one processing unit to determine a path corresponding to ashortest walking distance between the geographic location of the networkcomponent and the geographic location of the terminal network elementsuch that the path corresponding to the shortest walking distance isused as the estimated geographic path of the network.
 20. At least onenon-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer programinstructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to perform the followingoperations: estimating a geographic path of a network between ageographic location of a network component and a geographic location ofa terminal network element along at least one street electronically withKeyhole Markup Language (KML) data; and populating a geographic map withthe geographic location of the network component, the geographiclocation of the network element, and the geographic path; during theestimating, the KML data being used to electronically determine a pathcorresponding to a shortest walking distance between the geographiclocation of the network component and the geographic location of theterminal network element, and the path corresponding to the shortestwalking distance being used as the geographic path of the network.